Samuel Beckett: Not I’Wednesday 31^st July 9.30pm on Sky Arts 2 HD (1x60mins)

www.sky.com/arts

27/06/2013: Sky Arts today announces that Not I, the ground-breaking monologue written by Irish avant-garde playwright Samuel Beckett, will return to television. Marking the 40^th anniversary year since the play received its European premiere and with full permission from the Beckett estate, the new recording will be performed by critically acclaimed actress Lisa Dwan and will form part of an exclusive documentary ‘Samuel Beckett: Not I’. It will be broadcast on Wednesday 31^st July at 9.30pm on Sky Arts 2 HD.

The documentary, produced by Illuminations, will introduce viewers to the history of Beckett’s short piece and take a look at the importance of his work and the recitals of it.  This is only the third time in 40 years that official permission has been granted for a performance of Not I to be filmed for UK broadcast.

The programme will include behind-the-scenes footage of Lisa preparing for her sold-out run at The Royal Court Theatre, London which took place in May 2013. Lisa’s performance marked 40 years since The Royal Court Theatre first held the UK premiere of the monologue. Her performance received rave reviews including five stars from The Guardian which described it as “an extraordinary experience” and “completely immersive.” The Financial Times agreed calling it “hypnotic” and The Daily Telegraph added that “Dwan’s is a dazzling technical performance.”

Lisa Dwan was coached to deliver the intense monologue, which is a stream of consciousness articulated at speed, by fellow actress Billie Whitelaw who originally performed the part at The Royal Court Theatre in 1973. Billie was personally coached by Beckett. The documentary gives an intriguing insight into the methods Lisa uses to meticulously rehearse the work which includes practicing blindfold. The programme also includes interviews with Professor James Knowlson, author of Damned to Fame: The Life of Samuel Beckett, actor Simon Callow, theatre and film director Roger Michell, and Dr Derval Tubridy, senior lecturer at Goldsmiths, University of London. It is narrated by actor Paul McGann.

James Hunt, Channel Director of Sky Arts comments: “It is a tremendous opportunity to be able to bring Samuel Beckett’s haunting and coveted work to Sky Arts. Following the success of our Playhouse Presents season, we know there is a huge appetite for plays, drama and stunning performances on television. We have no doubt that our viewers will relish in the chance to discover more about Beckett's landmark piece and see Lisa perform it in the way he intended it to be seen.”

John Wyver, producer for Illuminations, said: "We are delighted to help bring Lisa's astonishing performance of one of Samuel Beckett's most remarkable plays to a wider audience than could pack into The Royal Court Theatre. Recorded in a single nine-minute shot, the play makes a powerful and remarkable piece of television."

Lisa Dwan first performed Not I at Battersea Arts Centre in 2005, followed by the Southbank Centre in 2009 and the inaugural International Festival of Beckett in Enniskillen in 2012. Lisa will reprise her performance this week at the Hay Festival in Kells, County Meath, Ireland.  

Samuel Beckett: Not I marks a further development for Sky Arts which champions innovative and original art programming, underlining Sky’s promise to deliver high-quality, exclusive content to customers, supported by a commitment to increase investment in home-grown programming to £600 million by 2014.

“Samuel Beckett: Not I, Wednesday 31^st July 9.30pm on Sky Arts 2 HD”

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT

Dominic Collett Sky Arts Publicist, Sky Press Office

T: 0207 032 4892

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NOTES TO EDITOR

About Beckett: Not I

Produced and directed by John Wyver (Illuminations Media), commissioning editor Claire Handford (Sky)

About Lisa Dwan

Lisa has worked extensively in theatre, film and television both internationally and in her native Ireland. Film credits include; Oliver Twist with Richard Dreyfus and Elijah Wood and John Boorman's Tailor of Panama and Bhopal - A Prayer for Rain due for release this year. In 2012 she adapted, produced and performed the critically acclaimed one woman play Beside the Sea at the South Bank Centre and on tour and starred in Goran Bregovic’s new music drama, Margot, Diary Of An Unhappy Queen at the Barbican. She most recently performed in Ramin Gray’s production of Illusions by Ivan Viripaev at the Bush Theatre.

About Sky Arts

Sky Arts offers an eclectic mix of the best music, arts, biographies, chat shows, film, drama and comedy. Sky is the only broadcaster in the UK and Ireland with channels dedicated solely to the arts, with 48 hours of the best arts content from around the world across Sky Arts 1 and Sky Arts 2 daily. Sky Arts now reaches more than 6 million viewers every month.

Recent highlights include Playhouse Presents… a series of one-off comedies and dramas starring renowned talent including Jon Hamm, Daniel Radcliffe, Kylie Minogue, Anna Friel, Idriss Elba and Matt Smith. The channel was also responsible for resurrecting the much-loved South Bank Show and The South Bank Show Awards. Sky Arts also encourages new formats and methods for accessing the arts, working with the ENO and National Gallery to beam the world’s first live opera and first live opening night of an exhibition in 3D to cinemas across the UK and Ireland.

Sky Arts also seeks to connect with culture on the ground; creating and collaborating with the best of the arts in the UK and Ireland to bring new experiences to life. Sky Arts has collaborated with a number of arts organisations including the English National Ballet and has supported the Hay Festival as broadcast partner since 2006. The Sky Arts Ignition Series launched in in 2011 to invest in the arts landscape of the UK. The Series will seek to collaborate with six arts organisations over the next three years in the creation of brand new works; Sky Arts Ignition Series: Futures Fund will support five young artists with a bursary of £30,000 each, enabling Sky Arts to back the creation of new works of art as well as nurture emerging talent.

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